Advances in Role and Reference Grammar

A SYNOPSIS OF ROLE AND REFERENCE GRAMMAR 137

non-argument dummy, unlike e.g. we, the violation is avoided, since the
CC specifically refers to arguments, not just NPs.
An exact characterization of "argument sharing" in non-subordinate
core junctures can now be given: two cores share a core argument when
either (1) identical arguments from two LSs are linked to the same syntactic
function in the matrix core, or (2) an argument from the embedded LS is
linked to a syntactic function in the matrix core. In both cases, an argument
from the embedded LS is linked to a syntactic function in the matrix core,
and this constitutes the formal definition of argument sharing.

7.3 Questions in complex sentences

In this section we will investigate question formation in complex sentences,

focussing on the much discussed restrictions on it and their implications for

the linking scheme.

7.3.1 Restrictions on question formation in complex sentences

The issue of question formation in complex sentences has been a major one

in syntactic theory, usually going under the heading of "island constraints"

or "extraction restrictions". In this section we will explore how these

restrictions can be explained in a theory that does not posit syntactic move­

ment rules; this precludes the possibility of formulating constraints like sub-

jacency which are stated in terms of the movement of a WH-word across a

specified number of nodes of a certain type.

In order to see clearly the phenomena at issue, it is useful to look at a

language in which there is no displacement of WH-words in questions, and

to see whether there are restrictions on question formation in complex sen­

tences. It was shown in section 5.4.2.1 that a question word like tàku

"what" in Lakhota does not move to the front of the clause in a WH-ques-

tion and that it must be the focal element in the clause in order to be inter­

preted as a question word (see Figure 25). Thys in order to have a WH-

question in Lakhota, the clause containing the WH-word must be in the

PFD, and the WH-word itself must be in the actual focus domain [AFD], as

in Figure 25. In order to determine the PFD in a complex sentence, we will

look at yes-no questions, since the focus of a yes-no question must also be

in the PFD.

There are a number of ways to determine the PFD in a yes-no question

in Lakhota, two of which will be discussed here. The first is what counts as